The Ornamented Being
Ornamented: -verb: Adorn; beautify. Be·ing: -noun: Fulfillment of possibilities; essential completeness.
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I will be sailing into central London tomorrow along with the Titanic II Launch! Ask me if I am excited yet?
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I owe a debt of gratitude to Owen Benson from Owen Benson Visuals for this photo taken of me during the Jane Austen Festival Masquerade Ball in Bath.
Keep an eye on the Mended Soul for an update on this gown but until then here is the longer front and back view!
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Off to the Tudor Revels! If you are in Southampton stop by for my lectures on Tudor fashion, The Queen in Context: Anne Undressed.
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Here we are in the first class cabin preparing for our journey! We attempted to “stowaway” on the Balmoral but apparently we were too posh to blend in with the cargo!
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Just a quick sneak peek at tonights dress! I promise I will blog everything over at The Mended Soul but for now my nice feather bed is calling!
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When I first found this image I referred to it as the Farewell suit and about 32 seconds later I renamed it the Safe Journey suit because farewell is entirely too final.
This suit has now been lovingly dubbed the Balmoral suit because it’s the one I re-created to wear on Sunday to see the Balmoral off. I will post about the making of this costume tonight in The Mended Soul.
If you do happen to be joining us in Southampton to see the Titanic Memorial Cruise off then do stop by the market on Saturday! I will be giving two presentations on 1912 fashion. Message me for more details because I would love to say hello!
On Sunday you will find us walking around with other costumed re-enactors at the docks. When the ship sails I will most likely be the one with net pulled over her face to disguise any tears that might be streaming down my face. I fear that I will become overwrought with emotion. After 100 years she is finally going to reach her destination!
I had a very long conversation with the woman from the White Star Liner last week and we discussed the effects the sinking of the Titanic had on the community.
I usually try my hardest to avoid taking an opinion because this blog is about sharing my love of fashion, history, and costume. It’s not really about me presenting one view because I would like you to form your own opinions. That said I apologize in advance but I feel very strongly about this topic (also, I’ve had a few people write and ask what my official stance is on whether I’m for or against the Memorial Cruise!). To clarify, I am completely 110% for the Cruise.
This weekend is not meant to be sad, this is a celebration that the Titanic launched, that for a brief time she was the Queen of the Ocean. Although the MS Balmoral will be leaving one day early from Southampton (believe it or not the Balmoral can’t match the speed of the Titanic!) this weekend we are re-enacting the joy, hopes, and dreams that travelled along with the ship. Even though the Titanic did not make it to her final destination, this weekend is about the joy and beauty of seeing her off. A celebration of what she was before the disaster if you will.
I’m honored to have been invited to take part in marking this momentous occasion. There have been so many arguments made against this Cruise and so I can only hope that your worry will be assuaged after reading what my position on the purpose of the Titanic Memorial Cruise is.
During our conversation the topic of the mixed feelings from the residents of Southampton was raised. Some believe the Memorial Cruise is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the life of those who built and sailed with the Titanic. Others think that the cruise is glorifying the death of those who perished.
I disagree. The Cruise is a floating memorial. How many other disasters have been able to pierce through the pages of time and to twist your heart with sadness? (For History fans like myself who still mark the days that Anne Boleyn and Marie Antoinette were executed are not allowed to answer that question!)
This Cruise is a final requiescat in pace to those who were unable to say goodbye to the family they would never know. Relatives of survivors who grew up listening to the heartbreaking stories their families faced onboard will finally have the chance to say farewell. In their hearts they will carry the memory of the survivors, their loved ones who were never given the chance to say goodbye to the ones they lost during that perilous night one hundred years ago.
The time for sadness will be when the Balmoral reaches the wreckage and the bells toll around 2:20 am to mark the 100th year to the moment the Titanic slipped into the pages of history. The tears will freely flow into the ocean below in a cathartic release of that terrible, heart wrenching pain we’ve all felt for the past century. It is my firm belief that by finally being able to mark this moment over the final resting place of the RMS Titanic the ghosts of the past will be laid to rest.
I only wish I could see the Balmoral sail into New York. That city has been waiting 100 years for this moment and what a bittersweet arrival it will be.
This year the Balmoral will carry with her the memory of over 1,500 souls that were never able to sail into New York, many bound for a new life full of dreams and opportunities. This year they will finally reach their destination, and what a glorious sight that will be.
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Truer words have never been written
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Queen Victoria (1819-1901) was the longest-ruling female monarch in history. We often think of her as the elderly widow of her later years, but the movie “The Young Victoria” reminded us that she was frisky once. It also reminded us (if we needed reminding) that being Queen of England involves some absolutely gorgeous clothes and jewelry.
The pieces we suggest, from left to right:
1. Royal blue satin ballgown with ivory lace trim. The seller’s main picture of this gown is red, but the inset image shows what the royal blue satin looks like. You’ll need to specify the color of the satin and the lace when you order. If you’re in a hurry, you can go with a navy satin gown, which the seller seems to have ready to ship.
2. Hoop skirt. You absolutely must have a hoop skirt petticoat to make the dress pouf out. The seller of the dress in #1 says she has hoops available but doesn’t list them, so we don’t know what her prices are. The store we link to here has an excellent selection at great prices. We also suggest a corset; it’s not required, but it will give you the correct period silhouette.
3. Stars and garters. On formal occasions Victoria wore her Order of the Garter regalia: blue sash, diamond Garter Star, and diamond Lesser George sash badge. Get a plain blue sash from a party store; make sure you wear it over your left shoulder. We chose arhinestone brooch in the shape of a Maltese crossto stand in for the diamond Garter Star (pin this over your left breast), and a large bow-shaped rhinestone brooch
to serve as the diamond sash badge (pin this where the sash crosses at your hip).
4. Rhinestone tiara. Gotta have a tiara. The bigger the better, but this one is a nice compromise between price and size.
5. Rhinestone necklace and earring setandrhinestone bracelet
. Queen Victoria loved diamonds. Her famous collet diamond necklace (Emily Blunt is wearing a replica in the screenshot from “The Young Victoria”) contained huge stones, so we recommend a rhinestone set that’s as bold as possible. The bracelet looks great over evening gloves.
6. White evening gloves and blue lace fan. Both from the Ladies’ Emporium, which has all kinds of fun Victorian things.
Hairstyle: In the portrait of Queen Victoria included in our main illustration, she’s wearing the classic early Victorian period tripartite up-do. The hair is combed flat and parted in the middle; then the hair in front (from the ears forward) is pulled into two sections. The remaining back section is braided or coiled into a chignon. The two front sections are combed flat against the face, and then looped back to meet up with the chignon. These two front sections can also be braided, which makes the looping back easier. This blog has excellent pictures and instructions: Locks of Elegance Braided Victorian Hairstyle. Note that the look of this hairstyle is very different from later up-dos in the nineteenth century. The way the front sections are drawn forward and down is distinctive.You do need to have longish hair to pull this off. If your own hair won’t do, you might consider an inexpensive brown wig
that you can comb and braid.
Shoes: Nobody is going to see your feet under that dress! But if you want to keep in period style, wear Isotoner ivory satin ballet slippers. The small picture to the right shows Queen Victoria’s 1840 wedding shoes, which were the same kind of evening shoes all ladies wore in that period. They’re ballet slippers, basically; they even have ribbons. Modern Isotoners are an excellent substitute. Heels started coming back after 1850, but they were very low. -
I summer in the States and spend the rest of my time freezing in London.
Reblog and add the passport cover from the country/ies you live in!
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I feel lucky to call this city my home.
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Today in 1837: the 18-year-old Princess Victoria becomes Queen Victoria at Kensington Palace.
“Rule, Britannia!”
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Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Queen of England
I found this on Wikipedia and I thought it was quite interesting: “… The French Revolution of 1789 probably added to the strain that Charlotte felt. Queen Charlotte and Queen Marie Antoinette of France kept a close relationship. Charlotte was eleven years older than Marie Antoinette, yet they shared many interests, such as their love of music and the arts in which they both enthusiastically took an interest. Never meeting face to face they kept the friendship to pen and paper. Marie Antoinette confided in Charlotte upon the outbreak of the French Revolution. Charlotte had even organized apartments to be prepared and ready for the refugee royal family of France to stay in. After the execution of Marie Antoinette and the bloody events that followed, Charlotte was said to be shocked and overwhelmed that such a thing could happen to a kingdom, and right on Britain’s doorstep… “
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Look what I just BOUGHT <3 <3
